Chen Saijuan (; born May 1951), also known as Sai-Juan Chen, is a Chinese

hematologist Hematology ( always spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the produc ...

and molecular biologist with a research focus on

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

cytogenetics Cytogenetics is essentially a branch of genetics, but is also a part of cell biology/cytology (a subdivision of human anatomy), that is concerned with how the chromosomes relate to cell behaviour, particularly to their behaviour during mitosis ...

. She is a professor and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics at

Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine The Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM, ), formerly Shanghai Second Medical University, is a public medical school in Shanghai, China. Clinical medicine of SJTUSM is consistently ranked first among medical schools nationa ...

, Director of the Shanghai Institute of Hematology, and Vice-Chairwoman of the Chinese Medical Association. She is an academician of the

Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

and

The World Academy of Sciences The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a merit-based science academy established for developing countries, uniting 1,000 scientists in some 70 countries. Its principal aim is to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable deve ...

, and a foreign associate of the French

Académie Nationale de Médecine Situated at 16 Rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Académie nationale de médecine (National Academy of Medicine) was created in 1820 by King Louis XVIII at the urging of baron Antoine Portal Baron Antoine Portal (January ...

and the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

of the UK. She has made important discoveries in the

pathogenesis Pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes from Greek πάθος ''pat ...

of leukemia and developed therapies to treat

acute promyelocytic leukemia Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML, APL) is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a cancer of the white blood cells. In APL, there is an abnormal accumulation of immature granulocytes called promyelocytes. The disease is characterized by a ...

(APL) and other types of leukemia.

Biography

Chen was born in May 1951 in Yinzhou District, Ningbo,

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by ...

, China. During the early

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

, she was forced to quit school and work in a textile factory at age 17. She was able to enter

Shanghai Second Medical College The Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM, ), formerly Shanghai Second Medical University, is a public medical school in Shanghai, China. Clinical medicine of SJTUSM is consistently ranked first among medical schools nation ...

a few years later, in 1972, and worked at

Ruijin Hospital Ruijin Hospital () is a renowned general hospital in Shanghai, China, with the rating of "Grade 3, Class A", the highest rating in the Chinese medical system. It is a university hospital affiliated to School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong Univer ...

after graduating in 1975. When graduate research was resumed after the Cultural Revolution, Chen was accepted in 1978 by the renowned hematologist

Wang Zhenyi Wang Zhenyi (; born November 30, 1924), also known as Zhen-yi Wang, is a Chinese pathophysiologist and hematologist who is a professor emeritus of Medicine and Pathophysiology at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). He is most well known f ...

as his graduate student. Another student Wang accepted at the same time was

Chen Zhu Chen Zhu (; born August 17, 1953) is a Chinese hematologist, molecular biologist, and politician. He is a vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and President of the Red Cross Society of China. He was also t ...

, her future husband. Chen Saijuan earned her master's degree from Shanghai Second Medical College in 1981. She married Chen Zhu in March 1983, and the couple both went abroad to study in France, he in 1984, and she in 1986. She earned her D.Sc. from

Paris VII University Paris Diderot University, also known as Paris 7 (french: Université Paris Diderot), was a French university located in Paris, France. It was one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was split into 13 universities in 197 ...

in 1989. After returning to China, she became a professor at

, which was later merged into

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; ) is a Public university, public research university in Shanghai, Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China ...

to become its medical school. She is now Director of the State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Director of the Shanghai Institute of Hematology, and Vice-Chairwoman of the Chinese Medical Association.

Scientific contributions

Chen's research is focused on

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a sub-field of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the ...

and especially the

, and she has made important discoveries on the

and therapy of leukemia on the cellular and molecular level. She cloned the m-BCR (minor breakpoint cluster region) of the

BCR gene The breakpoint cluster region protein (BCR) also known as renal carcinoma antigen NY-REN-26 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''BCR'' gene. ''BCR'' is one of the two genes in the ''BCR-ABL'' fusion protein, which is associated with the ...

and discovered a new type of APL (

) and new "nonrandom chromosomal translocations" of leukemia. Based on her discoveries, she developed a new therapy that turned previously fatal APL into a highly curable disease, and made progress toward curing other types of leukemia. She has published more than 300 research papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Honours and recognition

For her contributions to medical research, Chen was elected an academician of the

in 2003 and

in 2007. She was also elected a foreign associate of the French

and a fellow of the

of the UK. Chen has won numerous awards including the Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize for Medical Sciences and Meteria Medica (2001),

State Natural Science Award The State Science and Technology Prizes () are the highest honors conferred by the national government of the People's Republic of China in science and technology, in order to recognize citizens and organizations who have made remarkable contribut ...

, Second Class (2001), and Top Ten Women Elites of China (2005). She was elected a delegate to the 10th and 11th

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

es.

Family

Chen Saijuan's husband,

, is also a renowned hematologist who has served as China's

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

and President of the

Red Cross Society of China The Red Cross Society of China () is the national Red Cross Society in the People's Republic of China. Origins and history before 1949 The Red Cross Society of China was founded as the Shanghai International Red Cross Committee on March 10, 1 ...

. They have a son named Chen Shuo (陈硕), who is also a student of medicine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Saijuan 1951 births Living people Chinese hematologists Chinese molecular biologists Chinese geneticists Chinese women biologists Scientists from Ningbo Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni Shanghai Jiao Tong University faculty Paris Diderot University alumni Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering TWAS fellows Académie Nationale de Médecine Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Delegates to the 10th National People's Congress Delegates to the 11th National People's Congress Chinese medical researchers Chinese women physicians Physicians from Zhejiang Educators from Ningbo Politicians from Ningbo People's Republic of China politicians from Zhejiang Biologists from Zhejiang